Bargoed 7 Cardiff 39
Principality Premiership, March 30
Bargoed’s run of poor form continued with a home defeat to Cardiff on Good Friday in driving rain at Bargoed Park.
The game started well for the Bulls with an Ieuan Jones try set up by quick-thinking scrum-half Matthew Bancroft, tapping and going from a penalty 20 metres out before passing to the big number eight to crash over after just five minutes.
Full-back Matthew Lewis converted to give the home side a lead which lasted just a further seven minutes.
A catch and drive from a lineout on the five metre line saw Cardiff flanker Luke Crocker come up with the ball and Gareth Thompson added the extras to draw level.
Two minutes later and a knock on fielding a high ball gifted Cardiff their second try with centre Adam Jones touching down.
Bargoed lock Louis Blacker found himself in the bin for an accumulation of penalties inside the Bargoed 22 on 28 minutes and Thompson slotted the penalty to make it 7-17.
The home side thought they had weathered the storm when Blacker returned only for an added time Thompson penalty and another catch and drive on 44 minutes with former Bulls front-rower Ian Jenkins getting the third try.
Bargoed started the second half well but despite ten minutes hammering away at the Cardiff line, they came away with nothing.
Cardiff were reduced to 14 after 46 minutes with Ian Jenkins getting on the wrong side of referee Gareth John.
The bonus point try came from another Bargoed mistake, a knock-on behind their own try line and Rhodri Cole dotted down for the simplest of scores just on the hour and he converted his own try.
The final score came from a Dan Fish solo effort on 79 minutes, brilliantly chipping and collecting to round off a fine performance with Llywarch ap Myrddin putting over the conversion to complete the scoring.
Bargoed were denied a late consolation try with a foot in touch and Cardiff centre Jack Phillips got his side’s second yellow card of the afternoon for back chat to the referee.
- Match report by Peter Greening and photos by David Ganderton